OF ALL the days in the year, is it true that the winter solstice is the day when the Earth gets the fewest hours of daylight?
Verdict:
TRUE
The winter solstice is known as the longest night of the year, but that really depends on which part of the world you are in.
This is because the longest night for the northern hemisphere is also the longest day for the southern hemisphere.
So, what is the winter solstice? Scientifically, it is the moment when the Earth is tilted at an angle of about 23.5 degrees relative to the sun.
Instead of rotating on a straight axis, our planet is "tipped a bit," said Michael S. F. Kirk, a research astrophysicist in the Heliophysics Science Division at Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
There are fewer hours of sunlight the farther north you go in the Northern Hemisphere. People in this hemisphere might notice that the sun is not that high in the sky, even at noon.
The term "solstice" comes from the Latin words 'sol' which means the sun and 'sistere' which means to stand still.
Each year, the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere falls on one of two days; Dec 21 or Dec 22. In the Southern Hemisphere, the winter solstice happens on June 20 or June 21.
The earth's orbit around the sun takes 365.25 days, according to NASA. Due to this discrepancy, the winter solstice doesn't always occur on the same day.
From a cultural perspective, it is a traditional celebration for Chinese people worldwide – including Malaysian Chinese.
In China, the Winter Solstice was seen as an important turning point in the year since days will grow longer from then on and a sign that the winter will gradually fade away.
But in Malaysia, despite having a weather pattern that is pretty much the same throughout the year, the celebration known as Dongzhi Festival is still observed and considered an important remembrance of the passing of time.
Families celebrating will get together to celebrate, usually with a scrumptious dessert called "tang yuan" - glutinous rice shaped into balls that are served in a hot broth or syrup.
Sources:
https://www.livescience.com/winter-solstice
https://www.farmersalmanac.com/winter-solstice-first-day-winter
